Spike LR Long Range AT Missile

Manufacturer: RAFAEL / Eurospike

Spike LR
(formerly known as Spike) is a lightweight (13.0 kg) Medium range weapon,
designed to offer the infantry an effective anti-tank and precision attack
capability at ranges from 200 m to 4,000 meters. A system, comprising a
missile and launcher weighs 26 kg. A typical Gill anti-tank team include two
soldiers, one carrying two missiles and the other - the tripod and fire
control unit. Further reduction of weight is enabled by utilizing the
missile's imaging seeker for target acquisition, which eliminate the need
for a dedicated thermal sight which weighs 4 kg. However, such a sight
improves the target acquisition range of the system, especially at long
range. The system can deploy and be ready to fire within 30 seconds. Gill
can be reloaded and be ready to fire again within 15 seconds. The missile is
safe to operate from enclosed spaces, which is an essential capability for
combat from protected firing positions and in urban warfare.

The missile
uses a dual mode IIR/CCD seeker to locate the target and lock on it from the
maximum operating range. The missile uses a tandem warhead to
defeat even the latest advanced armour. Spike LR retains the
Spike MR’s “Fire and Forget” capability, but also
offers the advantage of “Fire, Observe and Update” operating mode, by the
use of fiber-optical link between the launch position and the missile. This
capability enable the crew to launch the missile at observed targets, which
cannot be seen from the firing position, such as targets hidden beyond hills
and defilade, or behind smoke screen. The missile can be operated by
infantry teams, from dismounted launchers, or from standard mounts designed
for fast attack vehicles, utility vehicles and APCs.

In 2005 Sagem demonstrated the Spike LR integration with the
Sperwer UAV. This was the first example of a weaponized UAV application for
"man-in-the-loop" guided missile used from autonomous UAV. (The
Hellfire missile used with Predator UAVs are laser homing weapons, seeking
targets marked by laser.)

In January
2007 RAFAEL and General Dynamics Santa Barbara of Spain signed contract
to supply the Spanish Army with 260 Spike LR systems, and 2,600 missiles.